Improvement in trowels



W. S. HASELTINE.

Trowels.

ANOAZL Patented Feb. 1()t 1874* UNITED STATES PATENT OEEroE.

-TAI/IER S. HASELTINE, OF HAMISTEAD, NEW? HAMPSHIRE.

IMPROVEMENT IN TROWELS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 147,261, dated Febiuary 10,1874; application filed January 8, 1874.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WALTER S. HAsEL- TINE, of Hampstead, in the county of Rockingham and State of New Hampshire, have invented an Improvement in Trowels, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making part of this specification, in wliichf Figure l is a perspective view of a masons trowel constructed in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a central longitudinal section through the same.

Masons trowels of the ordinary construction are objectionable for the reason that the mor tar continuallyT works back from the heel toward the handle of the trowel, a-nd when a brick is Tapped to settle it in position, the forefinger extending around the back of the shank or start,77 is consequently' exposed to the action of the mortar, which burns and cracks the ringer, and causes vit to become sore and painful.

To overcome the above-mentioned objection is the purpose of my invention, which consists in extending the front ferrule down around the rear portion of the shank, so as to form a guard which effectually prevents the mortar from coming into contact with the forefinger and injuring it as heretofore.

To enable others skilled in the art to understand and use my invention, I will proceed to describethe manner in which I have carried it out.

In the said drawings, A is the blade of a masons trowel, of the form seen in Fig. l, the width of the trowel from a to b being narrower than in trowels of the ordinary construction,

the heel of my improved trowel being curved inward from these points a b to the points c c on opposite sides of the foot of the shank B, which is bent up, as shown, the continuation of the shank forming the start d, which is inclosed by a wooden handle, C, the front and rear ends of which are covered by metallic ferrules D E. rEhe front ferrule D extends entirely around the start up to its junction with the shank, and from this point the rear portion e only of the front ferrule extends down around the back of the shank, forming a guard, by which construction the mortar cannot come into contact with the foretinger, which is applied at this point when the trowel is in use, and the cracking and soreness of the iin ger incident to the use of a trowel not provided with a protecting-guard are thereby avoided.

The guard e maybe cast in one and the same piece with the shank, instead of forni in g a part of the front ferrule, if desired. By making the blade of the trowel narrower than heretofore there is no liability of the guide-line being struck and vibrated thereby, and consequently the difficulty of regulating the required thickness of the layers of mortar to bring the bricks to the right level incident to the vibration of the line, where an ordinary trowel with abroad blade is used,is avoided. The form of the heel portion of the blade being curved inward instead of outward to the points c c of the shank, there is no mortar taken up by the trowel back of the points a b, and consequently when the brick is tapped thereby to settle it to the proper level, no mortar is lodged on its face, which frequently occurs where the ordinary form of trowel is used, and, as it is of the greatest importance to lay face-brick clean, this feature is of especial value.

What I claim as my invention, anddesire to' secure by Letters Patent as an improvement in trowels, is

A guard, c, for protecting the forenger, substantially as described.

litness my hand this 31st day of Deceniber, 187

VAL'IER S. HASELTINE.

In presence of- N. W. STEARNS, W. J. CAMBRIDGE. 

